Well, good morning, everybody. As the children are being dismissed for Children's Church, let's open our Bibles this morning to the book of Genesis. Chapter 41 and verse 33. The title of our lesson this morning is Skillful Living. I hope you enjoyed all the props I brought in today. No, I'm not going artsy on you, although I like art. This kind of stuff is above my pay grade, let's just put it that way. But this is for Vacation Bible School this week, so let's keep those folks in prayer this week. We are continuing our study through the book of Genesis. God has, at this point in our study, raised up a special nation, the nation of Israel. It's a special nation because God has decided to bless the world through the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And of course, the nation that we're speaking of here is Israel. By the time you finish the Jacob story account in the book of Genesis, we have the nation of Israel in existence with its 12 tribes. But then the issue is, how is God going to preserve his nation? And he has to preserve them from two things. Number one, moral depravity. We'll talk about that in a minute. And number two, famine. Famine that is coming upon the whole world, as we're learning about here. And the instrument that God uses to preserve Israel from famine and depravity is a 17-year-old, I believe he's the 11th born of Jacob's dozen, and his name is Joseph. And his story is recorded beginning in Genesis 37 all the way through the end of the book of Genesis. Genesis 37, Jacob, excuse me, Joseph is not treated well. He is betrayed by his brothers out of jealousy, sold as a slave into Egypt, and yet, as we're seeing his story unfold, that's exactly where God wanted him. Because Joseph's life is not about Joseph. Joseph's life is about God's plan and program through Joseph. Genesis 38, as we have studied it, is sort of a description of what the nation would have disintegrated into had God left them in Canaan. They would have become just like the wicked Canaanite neighbors. As my father used to routinely tell me, don't let your friends pick you, you pick your friends. Because good morals are corrupted by people with bad morals. And so that is a description, Genesis 38, of what would have happened to the whole nation. It's a depravity of Judah. But it would have spread to the whole nation had God left his people there. So his goal is to get them out of Canaan. Genesis 39 is now Joseph in Egypt where he is unfairly and falsely charged of the crime of rape and finds himself in prison. Yet it's in prison we discover that Joseph has an ability that God has given him. It's an ability not coming from Joseph himself, but it's an ability coming from God's work through Joseph, the ability to interpret dreams that God gives. With such accuracy, Joseph can tell what's gonna happen in a person's life three days from now. And so we're growing now in our understanding of who Joseph is with this talent that he has, which is going to be now on full display in Genesis 41, which is where we find ourselves. Because it's here Pharaoh, the head man over all of Egypt, has Two dreams. One, the seven fat cows and seven thin cows. One, the seven healthy stock and the seven unhealthy stock. But those two dreams, although separate, communicate the same point. Yet Pharaoh doesn't understand what these dreams mean. And it's in this chapter, as we have studied it, that the butler, who was with Joseph in prison in the prior chapter, brings Joseph's identity to Pharaoh, saying, I know a guy who can help you with this. I was in prison and he made, two years ago, a couple of prophecies about my dreams that happened in three days. And certainly he can help you, Pharaoh. So now Joseph is taken from the prison to the palace. From the prison to the pinnacle. It's a turnaround chapter in Joseph's life. And probably as a 17-year-old going through what he went through, he probably, I would think, became so discouraged with his life not prospering the way he thought it should prosper. And the reason he probably became despondent and discouraged is because he couldn't see chapter 41 coming, but God could see it. The truth of the matter is many of you today within the sound of my voice are sort of discouraged, despondent because of life circumstances. And it's so easy to sort of cave in to these adverse circumstances and just sort of, you know, raise the white flag and I surrender, I give up, Lord. And the reason we think that way is we don't see chapter 41 coming in our lives, which could be right around the corner. And God is saying to us, hang in there with me. I'm gonna do something in your life, which if I explained it to you, you wouldn't even understand it. And so Joseph has his turnaround moment, he has his turnaround chapter. Genesis 41, now he's brought from the prison to the palace, from the prison to the pinnacle. He is now standing before Pharaoh, who is the number one man over the Egyptian empire. The Egyptian empire being the key empire of that time period. And so Pharaoh, the leader of this empire, reveals to Joseph his two dreams, and Joseph gives an interpretation to those dreams. There's coming upon the land of Egypt, the two separate dreams communicating one point. There's coming upon the land of Egypt seven years of abundance. Seven years of prosperity, those are the seven fat cows. But just as those seven years of prosperity are coming, there's also coming, after those seven years of prosperity run their course, seven years of scarcity. Seven years of adversity. And in fact, the adversity is gonna be so bad economically that people won't even remember the good old days. That's how steep the decline is gonna be economically in Egypt. And that's the meaning of the seven thin cows that swallow up the seven fat cows. And this is something that is coming that cannot be reversed. It cannot be altered. In fact, if you go back to verse 32, of Genesis 41, it says now, as for repeating the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God and God will quickly bring it about. Well, can't we take a vote on this, God? No, it's decreed by God. Yeah, but God, what about popular opinion? Doesn't matter. God has made a decision here. Well, God, I don't really agree with how you're working. God says, I don't care what you think. I'm God, you're not. These seven fat years and these seven thin years are on the horizon, cannot be altered, cannot be reversed. That's the meaning of Pharaoh receiving not just one vision, but two in these dreams. Because God in his word says, let a matter be confirmed by two to three witnesses. And God has provided these two witnesses to Pharaoh. And it's only Joseph walking under the direction of God who is able to make any sense of what Pharaoh has seen in these dreams. All of the wise men and the soothsayers and all of the people with PhDs after their name. All the really smart people, the computer people, the tech people. The talented people, the beautiful people, they couldn't make any sense of these dreams, but Joseph, with the Spirit of God inside of him, could understand it. So now Joseph is in a position where he now has the ear of the lead man over the entire world, the Pharaoh of Egypt. And it's at this point that Joseph is now called upon by Pharaoh concerning the question, well, if these things are determined, what should I do? I mean, if these things are determined by God and they're coming and they can't be reversed, I'm the leader of the world. What do I do? And now Joseph moves from interpreter to advice giver there in verses 33 through 36. And so we pick it up there with verse 33 of Genesis 41. Now Pharaoh, now let Pharaoh, Look for a wise and discerning man and set him over the land of Egypt. Here comes the advice. Number one, you need to appoint someone over the land of Egypt. I guess in modern day vernacular, we would call such a person an economic czar. You need to put someone in charge of handling these things that I'm about to tell you because these things are heavy. And it's always dangerous to tell people they need to appoint a man to the position, because when you give that advice, they might turn around and say, well, you must be the man, which is what's gonna happen to Joseph. Cuz Pharaoh's gonna say, Joseph, I can't find anybody as insightful as you. It's kind of like when Jesus, in Matthew chapter 9, at the end of the chapter, he said, pray that the Lord would raise up workers for the harvest. He said, because the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. And then it turns out the very people, the disciples, who were praying that by the Lord's instruction became the answer to their own prayer. They became the workers. And so this is the kind of thing that's gonna happen to Joseph. He's just giving advice here, probably not understanding that Pharaoh's gonna turn around and put Joseph in this position. You'll notice the words wise and discerning there, verse 33. We're gonna talk more about those a little bit later when we hit verse 39, Lord willing. So not only is Pharaoh to appoint an economic czar, but he is to appoint stewards and the stewards are supposed to do something very specific numerically during the fat years. Verse 34, it says, let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land and let him exact a fifth, 20%, in other words, of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. It's kind of like a 20% tax. During that time of abundance, you need to take a fifth of it and not, use it all because you're going to need it when the economy goes south, so to speak. And what you're to do during the fat years is you're supposed to involve yourself in storing up for the future. And you see that in verse 35. It says, then let them, the stewards with this fifth or 20% type of tax situation, then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority and let them guard it. It's an ancient principle of putting aside for a rainy day. And by the way, if you're a person that does that financially, the Bible calls you wise. That's why I've entitled this sermon, Skillful Living. The Bible is not just a book about how to get to heaven, as important as that is. I mean, that's probably the most important issue given in the Bible, but it's much more than that. The Bible will reveal to you all kinds of things for your life if you let it reign and rule. It'll relate to your marital principles, relation principles, employer-employee principles, business principles, economic principles, financial principles. You say, well, do you have a good book to talk about those issues? Yes, it's called the Book of Proverbs. It's filled with principles for skillful living. And then in the New Testament, it would be the Book of James, which some have called the Proverbs of the New Testament. Book of Proverbs written by Solomon Old Testament, Book of James written by the Lord's half-brother James New Testament. But those books are so wonderful because they assume that you're already saved and going to heaven. But how does a saved heaven-bound person live with skill in the nasty now and now? And one of the principles that those books unveil is prepare for the future. Proverbs 21 verse 20, for example, says this, there is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up. In other words, it's the wise person that has not consumed all of his resources. He has resources around that are unconsumed, unspent, untapped into. The fool is the one that spends everything that he has. In the New Testament, in the book of Ephesians, chapter four and verse 28, talking about those who used to be thieves, Paul writes, he who steals must steal no longer, but he must labor performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. In other words, these hands that used to commit larceny and theft now take those same hands and the same mind, of course, that was used to devise stealing and put those into productive use so that you can create an abundance. Well, what do you do with your abundance? In the United States, we say you spend it all on yourself. That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says you create an abundance so that when need hits, you're going to be able to minister to people in the midst of that need. This type of financial exhortation coming from Scripture is so different than the way American society works, and you've probably seen all the statistics, that most people, and I want to be gentle here because obviously our country is having some difficult economic times with inflation Too much money chasing too few goods, causing the purchasing power of the dollar to deteriorate. A lot of people are under economic distress because of that. But putting that issue aside for a moment, most people, the statistics show, if they were laid off from their job, could survive maybe a week or two before going into poverty, homelessness. And the Bible is teaching us that we ought not to live that way. We ought to be people who, yes, we're trusting in the Lord, but we're productive where we're creating a surplus, an abundance for a rainy day. And in fact, if a person is not doing that, the Bible calls them financially foolish. Proverbs 27 and verse 12 says, a prudent man sees evil and hides himself. In other words, he or she prepares. But the naive proceed and pay the penalty. The naive proceed and pay the consequence, in other words. What we're seeing here in these chapters I think is a wonderful and important lesson for Christians in the United States of America. I see a time period coming in the United States of America where the prosperity that we have enjoyed will not be there anymore. Now, I'm not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I can see the handwriting on the wall. You cannot continue to spend beyond what you have, which is what the United States government has been doing, Republicans and Democrats, for an awful long time, and continue to hope for prosperity. It's impossible. It's like jumping off a building and expecting the law of gravity not to apply, because we're Americans. I mean, financial principles are financial principles. As the saying goes, if your outflow exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall, right? I mean, this is basic common sense. It's basic Bible sense. It's basic Proverbs sense. It's basic Joseph sense. This is what you have to do, Pharaoh. These seven years of adversity will come just as fast and as real and as quickly as the seven years of prosperity, and you need to store for the future. And that is gonna have a purpose. And that purpose is given there in verse 36. It says, let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine, which will occur in the land of Egypt, not might occur, but will occur, because God has determined this will happen through his two witnesses, the two dreams to Pharaoh, so that the land will not perish during the famine. God, Pharaoh, says to Pharaoh, through Joseph, wants to use you as a preserving force when this famine hits. And he wants all of the rest of the nations to come to Egypt for sustenance in the midst of famine, which most of the world doesn't even believe is coming. And the reason Joseph is in this position is this famine's gonna hit the whole world, the whole known world, including Israel. So God has this twofold purpose in working in Joseph's life. Number one, to get Israel out of Canaan so they won't morally deteriorate as Judah had done in Genesis 38. But God knows that this famine is coming and his own nation is gonna need help. to find grain in the midst of famine and Joseph, you're the guy, you're the economic czar that's gonna provide. That's what God does for financially wise people. He can use them as a beacon of light, a beacon of hope to the rest of the world that quickly moves into chaos when famine comes. God at the end of the day is the great provider. Psalm 37 verse 25, this is David writing about a thousand years before the time of Christ. He says, I have been young and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed, meaning his descendants, begging for bread. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 19 says, my God will supply all of your greeds. I'm sorry, I didn't say that. Excuse me. I had my American glasses on there. My God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Jesus, of course, in the Sermon on the Mount talked all about this. I mean, why are you anxious about what you're gonna eat, what you're gonna drink, what you're gonna wear, what you're gonna put on? Doesn't God take care of the lilies of the field, the birds of the air? Are you not more valuable than they? Since you bear God's image and a bird doesn't. God takes care of them, he'll take care of you. God's nature at the end of the day is the provider. And what you're seeing coming into existence is how God is gonna provide. That's a pretty good sermon going on there. So Joseph becomes the instrument that God is going to use to provide, to provide for the known world, to provide for the nation of Israel, because God is a provider. You know, God knew, of course, God decreed that this time of famine was coming, but he didn't say, you know, well, you're on your own, you better tough it out. because provision is important to God. Long before the famine hit, God was providing the means of deliverance. And that's what you have to understand if, I think it's more when than if, if our economy goes into sort of a tailspin that seems unsolvable. You have to understand that the provision of God for your life is not dependent on the economy. God doesn't say, okay, I can provide for you as long as the gas prices are low. I can provide for you as long as we do independent drill baby drill. Now believe me, I'm for low gas prices. I'm for drill baby drill if I had my way. I'm for inflation being put back in a box. But the truth of the matter is, even if those things get out of control, which it looks to me like they're getting out of control, the provision of God is still in your life because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You know, God is not handcuffed and says, well, I can only provide for you if the right party's in the White House. I mean, God is way bigger than that. Now, you should vote your conscience and all of those things, and I'm on your side on all of that, but you shouldn't reach a mindset which says, if things don't go right in the next election cycle, and I see people doing this on the conservative side frequently, if things don't go right in this election cycle, it's all over. That's a non-Christian way of thinking. It's never over for the Christian. because God is your provider. You don't know exactly how the provision is gonna come, but it's gonna come. God, long in advance, before these seven years of famine hit, was providing provision for the world, generally, and for his nation, specifically. And of course, Joseph's advice leads to his elevation, where, just like that, A 17-year-old, now around the age of 30, as we're going to see, who had been so abused, so mistreated, so misrepresented, so lied about, just like that, is taken from the prison to the palace. And just like that, he's made number two in all of the land of Egypt. That's how fast turnarounds can happen in the life of the child of God. So you see Pharaoh's response there, verses 37 and 38. First you have his reaction as he gets this advice. So he's got his dreams interpreted and he's getting advice. Here's what you do. It says in verse 37, now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Now here is a man, Pharaoh, who didn't know God at all. And he's standing in front of this Hebrew, or this Hebrew is standing in front of him, who knows God. So why is it that a pagan would listen to a spirit and dwelt Hebrew? It relates to the fact that in the book of Proverbs chapter 16, verse seven, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. That's what it relates to. It doesn't relate to Joseph's looks, although he was a very handsome young man, as we have studied. It doesn't relate to Joseph's talent, although he was a very talented young man, as we have studied. It relates to the fact that God is able to take a person who is walking with him and to make even their enemies at peace with him. I mean, God can do that for you on the job, or sitting under an unbelieving, as a student, pagan professor or teacher. He can, and he does, in certain circumstances, give you favor, even though they don't know God at all. And this is what is happening in Joseph's life. I mean, what Joseph is saying to this polytheist pagan, this Pharaoh, Along with all of Pharaoh's servants is this works, this is good advice, what we're getting here. Which leads to Pharaoh's rhetorical question, verse 38. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find a man like this in whom is a divine spirit? Now why doesn't Pharaoh say the Holy Spirit? Well he doesn't know anything about the Holy Spirit. He is a polytheist. He believes in many gods. So he is seeing something unique in Joseph's life, and he is repackaging the obvious source of power in Joseph's life through his polytheistic framework. By the way, this happens all of the time in the book of Daniel. As Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan, God-hating king, was trying to make sense of Daniel and Daniel's three friends, In fact, Nebuchadnezzar had those three friends thrown into the fiery furnace. And in Daniel 3 verse 25, he says, look, I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm. And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods, plural. I mean, what did Nebuchadnezzar just do there? He reinterpreted something supernatural that God was doing through these three Hebrew youths through his polytheistic framework. Daniel 4 verses 8 and 9, the same thing happens with Daniel. It says, but finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belt-Shazar, according to the name of my God, and in whom the spirit of the holy gods, plural, in whom is a spirit of the holy gods, plural, and I related the dream to him. O Belt Shazar, that's Daniel's Babylonian name, chief of the magicians, since I know that the spirit of the holy gods, plural, is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me, the visions of my dream which I have seen along with this interpretation." Daniel 4 verse 18. To Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar says, but you are able for a spirit of the holy gods is in you. And then Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar, does the same thing to Daniel. Daniel 5, he says, now I have heard about you that the spirit of the gods is in you. and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. So why do they keep having such bad theology? Well, they're not attenders of Sugar Land Bible Church. First of all, they haven't gone through our VBS. They don't know anything. All they know is something unique is happening with these individuals, Joseph included, And they just repackage what they're seeing through their pre-existing lens. And by the way, as you walk with the Lord, you'll see people will do that with you all the time. They'll see something supernatural in you and they'll say, you must be religious. Well, my response to that is I'm the least religious person you'll ever meet. I mean, religion is man's attempt to get to God. Christianity is God reaching down to man through the person of Jesus Christ. You explain that and they usually say that's a little too much information. Or they'll say something like, well, you must have it good with the man upstairs, that kind of thing. In fact, in one of my surgeries, not this last one, but another one on my foot a few years ago. No, it wasn't my foot. It was a gallbladder. See, that's way too much information right there. You don't need to know all that. I remember the doctor, you know, when I was going under, I said, there's a lot of people praying for you. And she said something like, well, as long as people are putting a good word for me and the man upstairs, I'm happy. So the man upstairs, I mean, does the Bible ever call God the man upstairs? No. She's taking something that's dynamic, something that's spiritual, that's outside of her ability to explain, and she's just repackaging it. That's what Pharaoh here is doing with Joseph according to his preexisting religious worldview. Or they'll say something like this, oh, you're different. Well, yeah, I'm different. I've got the Holy Spirit inside of me, and all these other people don't. But they don't want a lecture on pneumatology, the doctrine of the spirit. They just can sense that something is unique or different about you. And so they repackage it through the lens of humanism, paganism, polytheism. That's what was happening to Daniel. That's what's happening to Joseph here. In other words, you're different. Because the spirit of the gods is inside of you. Because there's no way you could interpret my dreams, which none of my soothsayers could do. I mean, Gene Dixon couldn't do it. Nostradamus couldn't do it. But you can do it. And there's no way you could give on-point financial advice to me in the midst of this coming adversity. Which of course is gonna lead to Joseph's appointment. We move from Pharaoh's response to Joseph's appointment, verses 39 through 40. Notice this appointment. Notice how fast it happens. Genesis 41, verse 39. So Joseph said to Pharaoh, since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. Joseph here is being appointed because of his abilities. I mean, his abilities have come to the surface. And his abilities include three things. And they're the exact three things that you have. Number one, God. And you see it all there in verse 39. Number two, discernment. Number three, wisdom. Joseph has been very clear throughout all of these conversations that it's God who gives interpretations, not man. Genesis 40 verse eight, then Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God? Genesis 41 verse 16, Joseph then answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God will give the favorable answer. Now the book of Proverbs chapter 18 verse 16 says a man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. The gifting of God inside of a person has the ability to take that person to the top of the line. That's what the book of Proverbs says. And here is Joseph moving right to the top. So Joseph is being appointed here because of his abilities. Now, it also says in verse 39 that he is being appointed because of his discernment. And how we need discernment today in the body of Christ. the capacity to discern what's right and what's wrong. In fact, God is so interested in discernment that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that he gives is a gift called the gift of distinguishing of spirits. 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 10, it says, to another affecting miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing spirits. to another various kinds of languages, to another interpretation of languages. And we can get into a big discussion about which of those gifts continue today and which ones don't. We're not getting into that conversation today. Just simply trying to point out the fact that God is so interested in discernment, which is what Joseph had, that he has actually given a gift in the body of Christ to some to exercise discernment. 1 John chapter 4 verse 1 is all about discernment. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits. That's discernment. To see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone into the world. This discernment is necessary because a lot of the messages out there don't come from God. They come from the world system. They come from false teachers. So how could you ever determine if a message that's out there is from God or not? Discernment helps with that. And even if you don't have the gift of discerning of spirits, I can guarantee you this much, the better you know this book, the better the discerner you'll be. Because God can't contradict himself. He can't say something on Sunday and something totally different on Monday. Everything that God says and does has to cooperate with his known will and his known character as revealed in this book, the Bible. The church at Ephesus. who was known for the church in the book of Revelation that lost its first love. Before Jesus rebuked them for that, He commended them for their discernment. He said in Revelation 2 verse 2, I know your deeds, your toil, your perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test. Those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you have found them to be false, or some translations say you found them to be liars. People were showing up on your front door saying, we're apostles. And this was during an age when you had apostles. So how could you determine which are true and which ones aren't? Discernment helps you with that. The church at Ephesus put to the test their lifestyles and their doctrine, and they found it incongruous with God's prior revelation. And they said, sorry, you're liars. You can't have a book table at this conference. You can't teach in our Sunday school. You can't be involved with our kids in the nursery. because your doctrine is wrong. And Jesus doesn't look at the church at Ephesus and say, wow, y'all are so close-minded. He says, Ephesus, thumbs up. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what Joseph was doing. He was a discerner, and even a pagan saw this in Joseph. Why was Joseph appointed? Because of his abilities. God, discernment, Number three, wisdom. And as you look at the verse there, verse 39, you'll see all these in play. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, God has informed you of all of this. There was no one discerning and wise as you are. When the deacons were selected in the book of Acts, what was one of the criteria? It was something called wisdom. It says, therefore, Acts 6 verse 3, therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the spirit and wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. In other words, the distribution of the food to widows. We need people with wisdom to carry out this service project. What is wisdom? It's the title of this sermon. Skilled living. It's the capacity to take the things of God and apply them to daily life. I mean, if you're a person that can come to Sugar Land Bible Church and absorb knowledge, but it doesn't affect life, you're a person of knowledge. You're a person of gnosis, which is fine. But God never intended gnosis or knowledge as the final step. It's supposed to be a first step. Eventually, knowledge has to start being applied to life. Finances, which is what Joseph is doing here. Administration, which is what Joseph is doing here. Politics, which is what Joseph is doing here. And now he's walking, not just in knowledge, he's walking in wisdom, which is a different Greek word. It's not gnosis, it's Sophia. A beautiful name. What does that name even mean? It means wisdom. The book of Ephesians, probably more than any other book I can think of, gives you the demarcation between knowledge and wisdom. Gnosis, knowledge, Sophia, wisdom. By the way, the Hebrew word for wisdom is chokamah. You'll find it all through the book of Proverbs. Chokamah, what does that mean? Skill in living. Not just the acquisition and the acquiring of data, but how does the data relate to life? That's wisdom. That's what Joseph had. That's what Pharaoh saw in Joseph. You didn't just interpret the dreams for me, you told me what to do. Ephesians 1 through 3, knowledge. Ephesians 4 through 6, wisdom. Ephesians 1-3, relationship with God. Ephesians 4-6, responsibility. Ephesians 1-3, doctrine. Ephesians 4-6, deed. Ephesians 1-3, orthodoxy. Correct belief. Ephesians 4-6, orthopraxy. Correct practice. Ephesians 1-3, knowledge. Ephesians 4-6, wisdom. Ephesians 1-3, belief. Ephesians 4-6, behavior. Ephesians 1-3 position, Ephesians 4-6 practice, Ephesians 1-3 privileges, Ephesians 4-6 responsibility. Did you know that in Ephesians 1-3, there's not a single command to follow? Not one. Greek, we call these imperatives, what you're supposed to do. Not a single imperative, but you hit chapters four through six, and the last time I counted, there's 38 imperatives or commands. In other words, by the time you hit the second half of the book, Paul is saying, you know enough, now live it out. It's interesting that Paul doesn't tell people to live it out until he first explains who they are. So knowledge is needed for wisdom, but knowledge was never intended to stay in a box. That's the danger of being in a Bible church. where we talk about knowledge from the scripture constantly. You hear so much of that, people might think, well, that's the end result of Christianity. I'm knowledgeable. I can pass the test. My mind is filled with data. God says, congratulations, but take the next step. Move it into your marriage. Move it into how you're conducting your finances. Dare I say, move it into how you vote. Whoops, how did that slip out? Move it into your emotions. Now you're walking in Sophia. I mean, Joseph had knowledge, which is wonderful. God gave it to him. But he had wisdom as well. James 1 verse 22, you know the verse well. It says, but prove yourselves doers of the word. not merely hearers who delude themselves. Translation could be, stop being a person of knowledge only. Be a person of knowledge, but not solely or only. Let that move into wisdom. And it's on this basis that Joseph He's appointed because of his abilities. Now, you go to verse 40, and you see the appointment details. First positive, then negative. Notice, if you will, Genesis 41, verse 40. As Pharaoh is now moving Joseph into the number two position over all of the lands of Egypt, he says, you shall be over my house. And according to your command, all my people will do homage. Only in the throne will I be greater than you. Now, one of the things that's very interesting about the life of Joseph is he, and many Bible teachers acknowledge this, is a type of Jesus Christ in so many different ways. And as you go through the Joseph story, you can just start to develop typological descriptors that the Holy Spirit is working into the life of Joseph to show that Jesus fit that same pattern. And when Joseph moves into the number two position, it mentions here his command, you shall be over my house and according to your command, all my people shall do homage. When Jesus returns from the right hand of the father and moves into the number two position in the sense that he will govern creation, this world, For a thousand years, under the authority of God the Father, His mouth and what He says will be everything. Just like Joseph. Revelation chapter 1 verses 14 through 16. It describes Jesus in his glorified state. His hand and his hair were white, like white wool. So if you're getting grayer, don't let that discourage you. You're becoming more Christ-like. And it doesn't say, well, I was gonna say something, but I won't say it. His head and his hair were like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, and it has been made to glow in a furnace. And his voice, just like Joseph's voice here, was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp sword. His face was Like the sun shining in its strength, Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, elevated to second in command over the known world. Jesus Christ, betrayed by his brothers, because it was the nation of Israel that betrayed him to Rome. Now don't finger point too much at Israel, because the last time I checked, we all killed Christ, didn't we? He died for all of us. But there's a parallel with him being betrayed by his brothers. Joseph being betrayed by his brothers. Jesus being elevated to second in command over the millennial earth. Joseph being elevated to second in command over Egypt. Joseph being elevated to a position that when he talks, it's gonna have complete and total authority that Pharaoh gave him. Jesus, when he comes back and he talks and speaks, he will rule with a rod of iron. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and what he says will be the final say. By the way, that there on the right is a picture of the glorified Christ. And I know it's exactly right, because it's an internet picture, so it has to be true. And then the glorified Christ is described over in Revelation 19, verse 15. It says, from his mouth comes a sharp sword. That would be the word of God coming from his mouth, so that he may strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. So you see so much Christ-like symbolism and typology here, but there's a negative side to it also. Verse 40. Only in the throne I will be greater than you. That's what Pharaoh is saying to Joseph. You're not gonna be the number one guy, you're gonna be the number two guy. Now Joseph actually has been prepared for this. He was prepared for this long before what we're reading about here happened. He was the number two guy in Potiphar's house. He was the number two guy in prison. So when he becomes the number two guy over all of the land of Egypt, the Lord had prepared him for this role long in advance. See, the circumstances going wrong allegedly in Joseph's life, the only thing they were doing was preparing him for his future role. That is exactly what's happening in your life as a Christian right now as you walk with the Lord. As I like to call it, it's training time for reigning time. And I don't know what the rest of your earthly life is gonna be like, but I know this much, when Jesus comes back to rule and reign, we will be ruling and reigning with him. That's in the Bible. That's Revelation 5 verse 10. So everything that's happening in your life right now is preparing you for your regal authority under his delegated authority one day. Where he says to one guy, 10 cities for you. Parable of the the Minas another guy five cities Why does one guy get ten and one guy get five I think that's the breakdown Luke 19 Because one guy Submitted to suffering more than the first guy One guy allowed his character to be developed and in a more cooperative manner during his earthly sojourn, so he's in a better position to reign over more. Another guy just shut the Lord out and said, you know, I don't want anything to do with the Lord. I don't like this walk of suffering. And the Lord says, you should love the walk of suffering because it's preparing you for your regal authority. I mean, cooperate with me on this. So that I can mold and shape your character in such a way so that when the time comes, you'll be in a position to be in maximum authority. So Joseph now has moved into maximum authority. The only one that's higher than him is Pharaoh. Now folks, that's Trinitarian. God the Son is equal to God the Father by way of deity. But God the Son is not equal to God the Father by way of function. God the Son submits to God the Father and says things like this, I don't want to die on the cross, but not my will be done, thy will be done. When the son does that to the father, that is a submission, not in terms of value or worth, but in terms of function or role. And we have a generation today that is completely and totally confused on the doctrine of marriage. And they hate the idea that a woman submits to a man in marriage. And they think that if a woman submits to a man in marriage, that the woman is saying she's less valuable than the man. Nonsense. The son is just as equal as the father. The son is not less valuable than the father. what the son submits to the father. Because it's a submission not in ontology or value, but what we would call functional subordination. And so you actually see Trinitarianism, I believe, developing here. As we're watching this typology of Joseph, who is a type of Jesus Christ. Well, how much authority does Joseph have after he's appointed? Well, I'm glad you asked. Verse 41, Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set over you over all, not some, all the land of Egypt. Is all the land of Egypt really that big of a deal? I mean, do we have to know that? It's repeated three times. First time here, actually three other times, I should say. Second time, Genesis 41, 43, and he had him ride in the chariot, and they proclaimed before him, bow the knee, and he set him over all the land of Egypt. Chapter 42, verse six. Now Joseph was the ruler over the land. Genesis 45 and verse 8. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God, and he made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Apparently God wants this point communicated. Oh, come on, this is just a bunch of fairy tales you're talking about. Are you trying to tell me that this actually happened in history? Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes this in his Genesis commentary. He says, this was a position of vizier, if I'm pronouncing that right, or a prime minister. And there is a parallel in the records of Thutmose III in Egypt, who said, quote, look, you to this office of visor. Be diligent over everything that is done in it. Behold, it is the support of the entire land." In other words, the Pharaoh putting someone second in command over all of Egypt was seemingly unlimited power. The only one that would eclipse him would be Pharaoh himself. I mean, apparently Pharaoh's had a propensity to do this. In other words, what you're reading here in the Bible fits the history books. I mean, this was part of the Egyptian culture. And this is something that you discover in the Bible as you study it faithfully and look at the background surrounding the Bible. This is not Jack and the Beanstalk stuff here. This is not fairy tales, veggie tales. I mean, you sit down with your children and your grandchildren, you're not reading from the Bible some kind of spiritual warm fuzzy for the day. You're reading history. Now, there are obviously spiritual principles that come right out of the Bible, but they come out of a historical context that is credible. And you need to tell your children and your grandchildren that over and over and over and over again. Because they think, being under secularism, that the college classroom or the public school classroom is where they do the real history. We have the PhDs in history. We'll take care of that. Thank you. You guys just do your religious stuff on Sunday morning. So they have driven a wedge, the secularists, between the spiritual truth of the Bible and the historical context of the Bible. And yet God knows no such separation. Right down to the resurrection of Jesus. The greatest event in Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Paul says, there is no Christianity. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 14. And when Paul taught the resurrection of Jesus, he said, check it out yourself. There are 500 people, most of whom are still alive, Paul says, that could vouch historically for what I'm developing for you spiritually. But there is no wedge between the sacred and the secular. I understand that the Bible is not primarily a historical book, but when it touches on historical happenstances, it is exactly right in what it says. It's not a book about archaeology, but I'll tell you one thing, when it talks about archaeology, it's exactly correct. It's not a scientific book either, but when it brushes on science, it's 100% accurate. That is the nature and the substance of the book that we're giving ourselves to here. It is the Word of God. It is the Word of God to man. Now, if that's true, do you think God would sit by and allow some errors to creep in? I mean, if God is gonna allow that in his word, he's really not much of a God, as far as I can tell. So Joseph now is given this authority. It seems almost unlimited. He's only under Pharaoh. And I'm here to tell you folks that it's just a matter of time before Jesus exercises that same authority. Psalm 110 in verse one says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet. I mean, where is Jesus right now? Well, he's ascended back to the Father. He's at the Father's right hand. And he's just waiting for the word. From the Father to the Son to go down now to the Earth and rule and reign over it under my delegated authority. Well, what's taken him so long? I'll tell you what's taken him so long is God is not willing that any should perish. But all should come to repentance. Because you have to understand something that once the age of justice begins, and it will begin, the age of grace is over. The opportunities for salvation become limited. I'm not gonna say non-existent, but it's not like it is today where anybody, anywhere under the sound of my voice can be made right with God by trusting what Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago. The Bible says today is a day of salvation. The Bible actually says, I think this is in Psalm 2, kiss the son lest he become angry. Since the day of judgment and the day of righteousness is coming, just like it happened in Joseph's life, where he was made number two over Egypt, the day is coming where Jesus, at the Father's instructions, once Satan has been evicted from the earth in the events of the tribulation period, will return to planet earth, and it will be just as physical, literal, and visible as it was when he was here 2,000 years ago. It's just the next time around, he's reigning with a rod of iron. His spoken word will be the unchallenged authority over the earth, just as Joseph's was. And our exhortation to people is to get right with God now while the time exists to do it. Because as God said to Noah, In Genesis 6, verse three, my spirit will not strive with men forever. The day of grace doesn't last forever. Praise God for the day of grace. I love the day of grace. But don't assume that it's something that just goes on and on and on, because it's gonna be interrupted. With the authority of Jesus Christ, All of that to say, if there's anybody here within the sound of my voice that's never placed their trust in the Savior, our exhortation is to do that now. It's something that you can do within the privacy of your own thoughts and mind as the Spirit places a person under conviction. You respond to that convicting ministry by trusting in the provision of the Savior and being on the right side of Jesus when he comes back, not the wrong side. Kiss the son now, lest he become angry. Anybody within the sound of my voice here in the building, watching online, listening online, watching, listening to the archives after the fact can receive the grace of God by trusting in Jesus Christ. It's not something you have to walk a mile to do, join a church to do, give money to do, raise a hand to do. It's a matter of privacy between you and the Lord where you come under this conviction and you trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And just like that, your eternal destiny is altered. If it's something you need more explanation on, I'm available after the service to talk. Shall we pray? Father, we're grateful for this historical account of Joseph and how it typologically unfolds the future. Make us good stewards of this section of Scripture as we pick it up here next week with verse 42, as we see Joseph's transition From the prison to the palace, we'll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus' name and God's people said.